Verizon's advertising propels brand perception while AT&T sinks

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Verizon and Motorola's strong marketing push leading up to the launch of the new Droid handset had a significant impact on brand perception in the 18- to 34-year-old target demographic, pushing it well above AT&T, according to a study released Monday.



Daily tracking from YouGov's BrandIndex shows that scores associated with the Verizon Wireless brand have soared since the Droid advertising campaign launched on Oct. 18, up until the launch of the Droid last Friday. Verizon's score went from 8.3 to 24.2 on the study's scale, which ranges from -100 to 100.



During the same frame, AT&T's brand perception dropped, from 1.4 on Oct. 18 to -2.4 by Nov. 6. The ongoing study surveys 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample. More than 1.2 million people are interviewed each year, and the research is said to have a margin of error of +/- 2 percent.



Respondents in the target 18- to 34-year-old demographic were asked the question, "Would you recommend the brand to a friend?" While AT&T and Verizon were comparable in the latter half of October, Verizon pulled well ahead of the second-largest wireless carrier come November, leading up to the debut of the Motorola Droid.







The latest study follows a tough summer for AT&T, when overall consumer perception dropped significantly following the launch of the iPhone 3GS. That change was likely at least partially attributed, BrandIndex said, to AT&T's inability to meet bandwidth needs on its network following the launch of Apple's latest handset.



The Droid launched Friday to positive reviews. Building up to its release, a series of advertisements targeted Apple's iPhone, making claims of shortcomings with the tagline "iDon't."



In addition, Verizon has stepped up its advertising against the AT&T network, lampooning the iPhone "There's an app for that" phrase with the slogan "There's a map for that." Last week, AT&T filed a lawsuit over the advertisements, claiming that Verizon is misrepresenting its coverage areas and misleading consumers.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 55
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Wow- that was fast. The cellphone market is extremely fickle.

    Verizon was extremely smart to buy all that baseball playoffs and World Series coverage.
  • Reply 2 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Wow- that was fast. The cellphone market is extremely fickle.

    Verizon was extremely smart to buy all that baseball playoffs and World Series coverage.



    I don't think it's fickleness so much as it is people fed up with AT&T service and word is starting to get around. I know for myself if the iPhone was announced as being available on Verizon I would jump ship that day.
  • Reply 3 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Makes sense, they do have more 3G coverage and their ads express this fact very well. There are inherent limitations, like speed compared to AT&T’s 3G network and simultaneous voice and data, and even places where AT&T’s EDGE is faster than Verizon’s EVDO, but that isn’t something that the average consumer is going to understand. They’re doing a great job increasing mindshare with both their network and the Droid.
  • Reply 4 of 55
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    The only reason I stick with AT&T is so that I can upgrade to the iPhone. Even then, the coverage is so terrible so I've often contemplated just getting an Ipod touch and jumping ship.
  • Reply 5 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gigawire View Post


    I don't think it's fickleness so much as it is people fed up with AT&T service and word is starting to get around. I know for myself if the iPhone was announced as being available on Verizon I would jump ship that day.



    I'm not sure that I would. AT&T Service around here is pretty good. I guess proximity is everything.....that and a flat terrain (no hills, no valleys, no tall buildings).



    Doesn't Verizon have a 5GB cap on their 'unlimited' data service?
  • Reply 6 of 55
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    The only reason I stick with AT&T is so that I can upgrade to the iPhone. Even then, the coverage is so terrible so I've often contemplated just getting an Ipod touch and jumping ship.



    Well I had a Verizon phone and a Touch for one year and can vouch that having the iPhone alone is much better. Looking for hot spots was maddening not to mention carrying 2 devices. Think about it. AT&T has made some gains in their coverage after all.
  • Reply 7 of 55
    woodewoode Posts: 67member
    How much more of news like this till Apple kicks AT&T exclusivity to the curb?



    I mean, I *wont* switch to Verizon, because I got no Verizon signal at home at all. Even so, this has gotta sting!
  • Reply 8 of 55
    This is another wake up call for AT&T. They don't seem to be getting the message for a lot of consumers. Here in Houston, I'm quite satisfied and have noticed that in some places, 7.2 Mbps has been rolled out. I don't ever plan to jump ship when Big Red offers the iPhone, unless there is a cost savings. Of course the $350 termination charge would also make me think twice.
  • Reply 9 of 55
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Well I had a Verizon phone and a Touch for one year and can vouch that having the iPhone alone is much better. Looking for hot spots was maddening not to mention carrying 2 devices. Think about it. AT&T has made some gains in their coverage after all.



    AT&T has definitely made gains in my area. When I originally bought the iPhone 3G a year ago this past July, there was no 3G here in north-western Jersey so I returned it and returned to Verizon. By this past February (when I bought the iPhone again), a little over 6 months later, I had full 3G inside my house and everywhere I go. Like I said in the other thread, I hope Verizon gets the iPhone 3rd quarter 2010 as is rumored. Then, a bunch of AT&T's iPhone customers will jump ship and return to Verizon balancing out the load on the network (in theory anyway).
  • Reply 10 of 55
    pg4gpg4g Posts: 383member
    While this may be correct of consumer sentiment, it's not really set in stone until the product ships. People need to get their hands on the device, and create a "product sentiment" - it's no good saying that a network is great if there are no decent devices that run on it. So it'll be telling when we find out how customers perceive the Droid after a good 3 months to gauge product sentiment.



    After all, we all know how the Pre was hyped but fell off a cliff in sales. It was good in concept but had very little backing in reality.
  • Reply 11 of 55
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Verizon advertising is so inconsistent. There is the nerdy guy with the network crowd, then the super industrial deconstruction images of the Droid, to the 'map for that' ads. The branding is not reenforced in any of the different scenarios as opposed to Apple where the brand is always instantly recognizable, which gets you much more bang for your buck.
  • Reply 12 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by surebet07 View Post


    Doesn't Verizon have a 5GB cap on their 'unlimited' data service?



    After 5GB they start charging 5¢/MB which comes out to $50/GB. AT&T technically could do the same per your contract, but so far have allowed for actual unlimited data on their network.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Woode View Post


    How much more of news like this till Apple kicks AT&T exclusivity to the curb?



    Seeing as how they are under contract and the contract likely ends come July I don?t see that happening. When Apple does branch out in the US, the easy money would be on adding the wonky 1700MHz UMTS spectrum to the iPhone so that it can work with T-Mobile. Both AT&T can T-Mobile would bend over for the iPhone and Verizon has publicly bashed the iPhone and I doubt Apple would want to make a CDMA-based iPhone to have double stock in their stores or use a hybrid chip which may be larger use more power and also require Apple to pay Qualcomm 5.5% of their gross profit regardless of the carrier it runs on, from what I?m told. Plus, they already have a relationship with T-Mobile?s parent corporation in Europe.
  • Reply 13 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    This is another wake up call for AT&T. They don't seem to be getting the message for a lot of consumers. Here in Houston, I'm quite satisfied and have noticed that in some places, 7.2 Mbps has been rolled out. I don't ever plan to jump ship when Big Red offers the iPhone, unless there is a cost savings. Of course the $350 termination charge would also make me think twice.





    How can I tell if I'm on the 7.2mbps speed? I don't know about VZ but when I call ATT I actually speak with someone in the US which was a big difference when I left Sprint. That $350 termination fee is quite the bear trap. Ouch. At least on ATT we are getting Skype soon.
  • Reply 14 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PG4G View Post


    While this may be correct of consumer sentiment, it's not really set in stone until the product ships. People need to get their hands on the device, and create a "product sentiment" - it's no good saying that a network is great if there are no decent devices that run on it. So it'll be telling when we find out how customers perceive the Droid after a good 3 months to gauge product sentiment.



    After all, we all know how the Pre was hyped but fell off a cliff in sales. It was good in concept but had very little backing in reality.



    The Android platform is quite different then the Pre in many ways. First of all, Motorola released in in time for the holiday season but after the iPhone buzz had dropped for the year. Palm released the Pre foolishly right before the 3GS hit. It?s like stepping in puddle just to turn around and see a tidal wave rushing your way.



    Then they had no public SDK ready and when they did release it it was complete shite. It still is. Google started with Java and now have a proper development platform with the NDK to push them into the future. They also have over 10k apps for the Droid?s launch.



    I fully expect to see a lot of Android-based devices cannibalizing the cheaper smartphones. While these phones will be mostly compared to the iPhone, they?ll be eating up the non-iPhone and non-Blackberry devices currently on the market. WinMo is in serious trouble here.
  • Reply 15 of 55
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post


    AT&T has definitely made gains in my area. When I originally bought the iPhone 3G a year ago this past July, there was no 3G here in north-western Jersey so I returned it and returned to Verizon. By this past February (when I bought the iPhone again), a little over 6 months later, I had full 3G inside my house and everywhere I go. Like I said in the other thread, I hope Verizon gets the iPhone 3rd quarter 2010 as is rumored. Then, a bunch of AT&T's iPhone customers will jump ship and return to Verizon balancing out the load on the network (in theory anyway).



    I got mine in July and it's been decent. Occasionally it will drop a call or they won't connect after rising out of the subway. My battery does go down fairly quick but not sure if it's due to AT&T fetching me data and making the phone wait or just general use.
  • Reply 16 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joe in miami View Post


    How can I tell if I'm on the 7.2mbps speed? I don't know about VZ but when I call ATT I actually speak with someone in the US which was a big difference when I left Sprint. That $350 termination fee is quite the bear trap. Ouch. At least on ATT we are getting Skype soon.



    Maybe Field Test Mode can tell you.
  • Reply 17 of 55
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PG4G View Post


    While this may be correct of consumer sentiment, it's not really set in stone until the product ships. People need to get their hands on the device, and create a "product sentiment" - it's no good saying that a network is great if there are no decent devices that run on it. So it'll be telling when we find out how customers perceive the Droid after a good 3 months to gauge product sentiment.



    After all, we all know how the Pre was hyped but fell off a cliff in sales. It was good in concept but had very little backing in reality.



    This isn't about the Droid. This is about the overall public perception of Verizon and AT&T as companies, not any specific offerings they have, although, those may surely affect the perception, but that isn't what's being measured.



    AT&T has been taking body blows to their reputation for some time now, and I'm sure the Verizon, "There's a map for that," adds haven't helped them either. They seriously need to do something (like build their network out, and start treating their customers better) that does not involve Seth the Blogger Guy to salvage their reputation, though, and they need to get started on it yesterday.
  • Reply 18 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joe in miami View Post


    How can I tell if I'm on the 7.2mbps speed?



    Well Houston is on the list of cities to have it rolled out first before the end of the year. Using speedtest, a few weeks ago I was getting between 1 and 1.4 mbps download speeds, with the upload being capped at 200k or so. Now in some spots I am getting speeds of 2.5 Mbps. Perhaps I should have said I assume, not for sure.
  • Reply 19 of 55
    penchantedpenchanted Posts: 1,070member
    Verizon clearly has the better network overall and their recent advertising has really driven that point home. However, it will be interesting to see what impact a successful launch of these data devices will have on their network.
  • Reply 20 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    Well Houston is on the list of cities to have it rolled out first before the end of the year.



    Does AT&T have a list of rollouts for 7.2Mbps and for 850Mhz spectrum upgrades?
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